Putin's words sparked an angry reaction in Washington, where officials accused him of rattling sabers to discourage NATO countries from supporting Ukraine.
US officials and lawmakers respond to Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin after the Russian leader said that a potential lifting of NATO restrictions on Ukraine striking Russia at long range would mean that NATO countries are “at war” with Russia.
This is stated in the article by The Guardian.
“This would mean that NATO countries – the United States and European countries – are in a state of war with Russia,” Putin told Russian reporters on Thursday. “And if this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will take appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be made against us.”
The words provoked an angry reaction in Washington, where officials accused Putin of rattling sabers to discourage NATO countries from supporting Ukraine.
Senator Jim Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Guardian that Ukraine should have permission to strike targets deep inside Russia, including active Russian bombers launching missiles at Ukrainian cities.
“Putin's latest threats of direct confrontation with NATO are simply an attempt to pressure the West into abandoning its support for Ukraine,” Risch said. “He knows that long-range strikes from Ukraine would do significant damage to his war effort. Several Russian missiles have fallen on NATO territory, and NATO has not escalated.”
“Ukraine has to be able to defend itself, period,” he continued. “If that means striking a Russian bomber that is launching missiles at Ukrainian civilians from Russian airspace, then Ukraine has to be able to do that.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said there would likely be no announcement of a lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of missiles supplied by Britain and France in Ukraine.
But at the same time, Kirby said the U.S. and its NATO allies have “their own calculus about what we decide to provide to Ukraine.”
“I've never said that we don't take threats to Mr. Putin seriously,” Kirby said. “When he starts waving a nuclear sword, for example, yes, we take that seriously. We're constantly monitoring that. He's obviously proven his capacity for aggression. He's obviously proven his capacity for escalation… But it's not something we haven't heard before. So we take note. We mean it.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly said that at a meeting with the heads of US and UK diplomacy on Wednesday he laid out a very “direct and detailed” vision of what Ukraine needs lifting restrictions on long-range strikes against Russia.
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